Health and Human Development Key Concepts and Definitions

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering health indicators, models of health, healthcare systems, sustainability, human development, and international aid.

Health and wellbeing

The overall state of a person's physical, social, emotional, mental and spiritual existence, characterised by an equilibrium in which they feel happy, healthy, capable and engaged.

Physical health and wellbeing

Relates to the functioning of the body and its systems and includes the physical capacity to perform daily tasks or activities.

Social health and wellbeing

Relates to the state and quality of the interactions and relationships that an individual has with family, friends and other people, including the ability to manage or adapt appropriately to different social situations.

Emotional health and wellbeing

Relates to the ability to express feelings in an appropriate way, involving the positive management and expression of emotional actions and reactions, as well as the ability to display resilience.

Mental health and wellbeing

The current state of wellbeing relating to the mind or brain, including the ability to think and process information, positive thought patterns, self-esteem, and levels of stress and anxiety.

Spiritual health and wellbeing

Relates to the ideas, values, beliefs and ethics that arise in the minds and conscience of human beings, including hope, peace, a sense of meaning, place and purpose in life, and a sense of belonging and connection to the world.

Illness

A subjective concept related to an individual's personal experience with disease, disability or injury.

Disease

A physical or mental disturbance often involving symptoms, tissue damage or dysfunction.

Dynamic (health and wellbeing)

Constantly changing, where changes can be positive or negative and occur gradually or quickly.

Subjective (health and wellbeing)

Meaning different things to different people, influenced by factors such as age, social networks, and body weight.

Optimal health and wellbeing

The highest level of health and wellbeing an individual can realistically attain at any particular time, taking into account genetics and the different environments in which people live.

Health status

An individual or population's overall level of health, taking into account various indicators such as morbidity, mortality, and life expectancy.

Health status indicators

Standard statistics that are used to measure and compare health status, such as morbidity, mortality, and life expectancy.

Incidence

The number or rate of new cases of a disease or condition in a population during a given time period, which is usually 12 months.

Prevalence

The total number or proportion of cases of a particular disease or condition present in a population at a given time.

Morbidity

Ill health in an individual and levels of ill health within a population.

Burden of disease

A measure of the impact of diseases and injuries; specifically, it measures the gap between current health status and an ideal situation where everyone lives to an old age free from disease and disability, measured in DALY.

Disability adjusted life year (DALY)

A unit used to measure burden of disease where one DALY equals one year of healthy life lost due to illness and death; calculated as the sum of years of life lost (YLL) and years lived with disability (YLD).

Years of life lost (YLL)

A measure of how many expected years of life are lost due to premature death, where the younger a person dies, the greater the number of YLL added.

Years lived with disability (YLD)

A measure of how many healthy years of life are lost due to disease, disability or injury; the non-fatal component of DALY calculated using a complex formula because conditions vary in severity.

Life expectancy

The number of years of life on average remaining to an individual at a particular age if current death rates do not change.

Health-adjusted life expectancy (HALE)

The average length of time an individual at a specific age can expect to live in full health, lived without the health consequences of disease or injury.

Mortality

Refers to death, often at a population level.

Morality rate

Refers to the number of deaths, usually expressed per $1,000$ or $100,000$ people in a 12-month period from a specific cause or all causes combined.

Maternal mortality

Death of a mother during pregnancy, childbirth or within six weeks of delivery due to pregnancy complications.

Maternal mortality rate

The number of deaths of mothers during pregnancy, childbirth or within six weeks of delivery due to complications, usually expressed per $100,000$ women who give birth.

Infant mortality

Refers to deaths of children between birth and their first birthday.

Infant mortality rate

The number of deaths of children between birth and their first birthday, usually measured per $1,000$ live births.

Under five mortality

Deaths of children between birth and their fifth birthday.

Under five mortality rate (U5MR)

The number of deaths of children between birth and their fifth birthday, usually measured per $1,000$ live births.

Self-assessed health status

An individual's perception of their own level of health and wellbeing at a given time, measured through a survey where participants classify their health status from poor, fair, good, very good or excellent.

Biological factors

Factors relating to the body that impact on health and wellbeing.

Sociocultural factors

The social and cultural conditions into which people are born, live, work and age.

Social networks and social exclusion

The segregation that people experience if they are not adequately participating in the society in which they live.

Social isolation

People who are not in regular contact with others.

Commercial factors

The impact that the private sector has on consumption patterns of individuals and population groups.

Environmental factors

The physical surroundings in which we live, work and play.

Public health

The actions of governments that work to promote health outcomes and prevent illness.

Old public health

Actions taken by the government to improve the physical environment and reduce the spread of infectious disease.

Health transition

A shift resulting from old public health initiatives where reduced infectious disease transmission increased life expectancy, causing lifestyle diseases like cancers and cardiovascular diseases to become the primary causes of death in the 1950s-1960s.

Social model of health

An approach that recognises improvements in health and wellbeing can only be achieved by directing efforts towards addressing the physical, sociocultural and political environments of health that impact individuals and population groups.

Health promotion

The process of enabling people to increase control over and improve their health.

Build healthy public policy

Decisions made by governments and organisations regarding laws and policies that affect health and wellbeing (Ottawa Charter priority area).

Create supportive environments

Making healthier choices easier choices by providing a physical and social environment that promotes health by being safe, satisfying, stimulating and enjoyable (Ottawa Charter priority area).

Strengthen community action

Involving many different groups within the community to engage as many members as possible to work together towards a common goal (Ottawa Charter priority area).

Develop personal skills

Educating people with the knowledge and skills to make informed decisions about choices that impact their health (Ottawa Charter priority area).

Reorient health services

Changing the direction of the health system so that it focuses on promoting health and wellbeing rather than only on diagnosing and treating illness (Ottawa Charter priority area).

Biomedical model

Focuses on the physical or biological aspects of disease and is practised by doctors and health professionals who work to diagnose, treat and cure disease.

Social justice

Equal rights for all regardless of personal factors such as sex, class, income, ethnicity, religion, age, or sexual orientation.

Human rights

The freedoms and conditions that every person is entitled to regardless of difference, including freedom of speech, the right to education, work, health, vote, life, and religion.

Access (social justice)

The principle that all people must have adequate access to resources and opportunities.

Participation (social justice)

The principle that everyone in society has the opportunity to participate in their community and have their voice represented.

Equity (social justice)

Disadvantaged groups having their specific challenges addressed so they can achieve the same level of health and wellbeing.

Australian Dietary Guidelines

A set of guidelines developed by the National Health and Medical Research Council providing advice on food types, food groups, and dietary patterns to reduce diet-related diseases for optimal health and wellbeing.

ADG#1

To achieve and maintain a healthy body weight, be physically active and choose amounts of nutritious food and drinks to meet your energy needs.

ADG#2

Enjoy a wide variety of nutritious foods from the five food groups every day (grains, fruits, vegetables, dairy and alternatives, lean meats and alternatives) and drink plenty of water.

ADG#3

Limit intake of food containing saturated fat, added salt, added sugars and alcohol.

ADG#4

Encourage, support and promote breastfeeding.

ADG#5

Care for your food, prepare and store it safely.

Australian Guide to Healthy Eating

A food consumer selection model designed to visually represent Australian Dietary Guidelines 2 and 3 by showing the proportions of foods to consume from the five food groups as wedges on a pie chart.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Guide to Healthy Eating

A food consumer selection model adapted from the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating that visually represents Guidelines 2 and 3 as wedges on a pie chart in a culturally appropriate and accessible way for Indigenous communities.

Health System

All the activities whose primary purpose is to promote, restore and maintain health.

Medicare

Australia's Universal Health Insurance Scheme that provides access to subsidised essential medical care for Australians, permanent residents, and citizens of countries with reciprocal agreements like New Zealand.

Schedule fee

The amount deemed to be reasonable and average for the price of a service, to which Medicare contributes.

Patient co-payments

The amount the patient has to contribute out of pocket when a health professional charges above the schedule fee.

Bulk billing

When a healthcare professional charges only the schedule fee, resulting in no out-of-pocket expenses for the patient.

Medicare safety net

Extra financial assistance provided by the government to make Medicare services cheaper for the remainder of a calendar year once an individual spends over a certain threshold on out-of-pocket costs.

Medicare levy

A $2\%$ tax charged on the taxable income of most taxpayers, excluding low-income earners.

Medicare levy surcharge

An additional $1\text{--}1.5\%$ tax placed on the taxable income of high-income earners who can afford private health insurance but choose not to take it out.

Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS)

A Federal Government initiative providing essential medications at a subsidised cost where consumers make a co-payment of up to $\$25.00$ (or $\$7.70$ for concession card holders) and Medicare covers the rest.

PBS safety net

Protects individuals and families with high medicine expenses by further subsidising PBS co-payments for the rest of the year once a threshold is met (making medications free for concession card holders).

PBS advisory committee

An independent panel of health professionals that reviews medicines on the PBS list to ensure they are clinically effective, safe, and cost-effective, and recommends new medications for inclusion.

National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)

An Australian Government scheme providing reasonable and necessary supports for Australians with a permanent and significant disability and their families to help them live an ordinary life.

NDIS individualised plan

A plan identifying the supports needed for daily living and participation based on an individual's goals and aspirations regarding independence, community involvement, employment, or health and wellbeing.

Private health insurance

Optional insurance purchased in addition to Medicare through premiums, where a private insurer contributes towards health-related costs not covered by Medicare.

Premium

The recurring fee members pay to a private health insurance company in return for cover of health-related expenses not covered by Medicare.

Private hospital cover

Cover providing access to private hospitals and public hospitals as a private patient, along with choice of doctor or specialist.

General treatment cover

An insurance cover option allowing choice of services like dental, physiotherapy, chiropractic, optometry, speech/eye therapy, midwives, home nursing, aids, and glasses.

Combined cover

Private health insurance cover combining both hospital cover and general treatment cover.

Qualifying period

The waiting time required before private health insurance coverage begins, preventing immediate access to benefits upon joining.

The gap

The remaining fee a patient pays out of pocket after Medicare and private health insurance have each made their contributions toward a health service fee.

Private health insurance rebate

A Federal Government incentive offering an income-tested rebate on private health insurance premiums, with higher-income earners receiving a smaller rebate.

Lifetime health cover

An additional percentage charged on premiums for individuals aged over 31 who join private health insurance, charged for 10 years, encouraging people to take out hospital cover earlier.

Aged-based discount

An optional discount of up to $10\%$ on hospital cover offered by insurers to people aged 18 to 29 years to reward early uptake of private health insurance.

Human development

Creating an environment in which people can develop to their full potential, lead productive and creative lives according to their needs and interests, expand choices, and access knowledge, health, and a decent standard of living.

Human Development Index (HDI)

A United Nations tool providing a statistic between 0 and 1 to measure and rank countries' social and economic development into low, medium, high, or very high human development.

Life expectancy at birth

The number of years of life, on average, remaining to an individual at birth if current death rates do not change.

Mean years of schooling

The average number of years of schooling achieved by people aged over 25.

Expected years of schooling

The number of years of formal education expected for a child of school entrance age.

Gross national income (GNI) per capita

The overall income of a country after expenses owing to other countries are paid, divided by the total population.

Extreme Poverty

Living on less than $\text{PPP}\$3.00$ per person per day.

Relative poverty

Living on less than $50\%$ of a country's average income.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita

The value of all goods and services produced by a country within a 12-month period divided by its population, reflecting the economic state of that country.

Gender Equality

When males and females have equal rights, responsibilities and opportunities.

Social security systems

Systems providing extra financial assistance to individuals who cannot access the resources they need to be financially secure.

Food security

The availability of safe, nutritious and culturally appropriate foods from non-emergency sources.

Double burden of disease

Occurs when conditions associated with both poverty and wealth, such as undernutrition and obesity, exist side by side in one community.

Access to safe water

Access to water that is not contaminated by pathogens (e.g., bacteria, viruses) or toxic chemicals (e.g., lead, mercury), required for drinking, hygiene, food preparation, and agriculture.

Sanitation

The provision of facilities and services for the safe disposal and removal of human waste (and wastewater/garbage) to maintain hygienic living conditions.

Poverty

The deprivation of access to basic resources for living stemming from a lack of income, restricting access to food, clean water, sanitation, shelter, healthcare, and education.